


Assumptions

by Eustacia Vye (eustaciavye)



Category: Firefly
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-01
Updated: 2011-02-01
Packaged: 2017-10-15 07:12:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/158357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eustaciavye/pseuds/Eustacia%20Vye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You think I was incorrect with the assumption?"</p><p>"You know what they say about assuming things," Jayne told her in a wise tone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Assumptions

The engines cut out not far from the docks at Persephone. It was a scramble to try to get everything fixed before anyone caught wind of them. It wouldn't do to be stranded dirtside with guns pointed at them and no way out of the situation. River had tried to be helpful, but Kaylee's frustration burned along her skin and she could feel the tension in Mal and Zoe. They didn't need her there. They didn't want her there.

River walked beside an empty row of stalls, thoughts turned inward. She didn't realize how far she had walked until Jayne caught her by the arm and spun her around. "Hey, _feng le_ girl. You weren't runnin' out on us, were ya?"

She looked up at him with glassy eyes devoid of emotion. "I give space when others request it. Is that in error?"

Jayne frowned. "Who told ya to go away?"

"They didn't need me."

He sighed and let go of her arm. "So they never said it. You just thought it."

"You think I was incorrect with the assumption?"

"You know what they say about assuming things," Jayne told her in a wise tone.

River blinked in surprise at him. "No," she said, not sure what he was getting at. She tried to think through the dozens of quotes from notable authors she once tried to collect as a child, but nothing came to mind.

"It makes an ass outta you an' me." He grinned at her startled laughter, gratified that she got the joke. "C'mon, moonbrain. Shouldn't go too far from the others, in case one of Mal's enemies gets wind of us all out here stranded."

"You are far more clever than others think you are. Why don't you disabuse them of the notion?"

"Don't got anything to live up to then," Jayne replied with a shrug. He winced inwardly when he realized he had revealed more than he meant to say, but there was no taking back the words. River seemed thoughtful. "What?"

"They see me as damaged. Do I leave them with the assumption? Then there's less for me to live up to as well."

She seemed to grasp the difficulty with that plan right away. Jayne patted River's hand gently. "Don't think it works every time, moonbrain. It don't always work out so good."

River spun around him in a pirouette and then pulled herself up to her tip toes to give him a kiss on the mouth. He sputtered and protested, trying to push her backward. It sent them tumbling into one of the empty stalls. "What in the gorram hell was that for?"

Her smile was sad. "I didn't want you to assume I was a child. I wanted you to see me for what I am."

Jayne frowned at her as he sat up. "Why?"

She touched his lips gently, tracing the edge of them with a nail. "I am no longer a child, a thing you would have to protect. I am woman, with a woman's desires and needs."

It was almost comical to see the way his eyes widened as he made the connection in her words. "But..."

"They still see me as a naughty child to scold. You don't." River cocked her head to the side as she considered. "You are pleasing in some ways, most cantankerous in others. It's an odd combination. I don't understand why I would be drawn to that."

Jayne snorted. "Is that a fancy way of saying opposites attract?"

River smiled. "Not precisely, but that would suffice."

He thought of letting her down gently, saying that she was a Core girl and he didn't know what to do with one of those. He was a rough and tumble sort of man, the kind that met his baser needs and didn't bother with worrying about politics or literature or learning. He had his guns and his knives, let others underestimate his wits and he survived. Core girls needed finery and all those fancy words he didn't know.

"Who's assuming something?" River asked, lips quirked into a smile. She pushed him onto his back, showing him that she was stronger than she looked. She straddled his waist, her hands at his belt. "I have no wish to be anything other than what I have. I have made peace with it, even if others have not."

"You sure it's me you want?" Jayne asked, still not quite sure if he should do anything.

She undid his belt and opened his jeans. "Yes."

He gave up trying to dissuade her when her hands closed over him, when she drew him out of his jeans and into her mouth. He pulled her body so that her hips were over his face, so that he could pull the girlish panties away and bury his lips in her folds. He liked sex; it was one of the things he knew how to do very well, even if it wasn't something he could boast about in pleasant company. True, he wasn't often in pleasant company, but it still wasn't a common topic of conversation.

Going by River's sighs and startled sucks, she enjoyed this particular skill set. He worked her into an orgasm before he pulled back to slide his fingers into her tight heat. River pulled her back to let out a groan, and she pressed her forehead against his groin to ride out the aftershocks. He pumped his fingers hard and fast, until she came again. She seemed limp in his arms, so Jayne repositioned her onto her back. He slid into her, pushing past a barrier and making her cry out in mingled pleasure and pain. He moved fast and rough, her nails scratching at his chest through his T shirt. She writhed, breath rapid, feeling the not-quite-pain deep inside her until Jayne dragged his fingers over her again. That tipped the balance and River whimpered softly, bucking her hips against him. Jayne came in a rush, biting back a shout.

They stared at each other afterward. "Um..." Jayne began, uncertain.

"I would not wish to assume anything by this," River began slowly. "I wish for a repeat, but if you don't..."

"Well, I could do a better job," he began slowly. "Not exactly my best performance, you understand."

Her lips quirked into a slight smile, as if she understood what he was trying not to say. "You have a reputation to uphold."

"Exactly. So... You know. Gotta try again at some point."

"When we're safely in the black and no one will try to shoot at us."

"Yeah. That." Jayne got up and helped her to her feet. "And no telling nobody until we know what's going on. Can't have them thinking the wrong thing."

"Precisely what I was thinking," River replied with a grin. She danced out of the stall, feeling a thousand times better than before and about eight feet tall. "I need to be sure if feeling like this happens every time. Like a scientific experiment. There are too many variables to control for. There might need to be tens of thousands of experiments to perform."

Jayne's lips couldn't help but quirk into a smile at her exuberance; it was an ego boost he hadn't expected to receive that day. "Sounds like a plan. Never say I never did nothing helpful."

River's smile was sweet as she reached out and pulled him closer to her. "I do see you that way, especially recently. The others will someday, too."

He didn't think so, but it was nice of her to assume they would. To round out the unexpectedly good day, the crew was able to leave without getting shot at.


End file.
